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Functional Characterization Of Atxa, The Bacillus Anthracis Virulence Regulator, Troy G. Hammerstrom
Functional Characterization Of Atxa, The Bacillus Anthracis Virulence Regulator, Troy G. Hammerstrom
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Coordinated expression of virulence genes in Bacillus anthracis occurs via a multi-faceted signal transduction pathway that is dependent upon the AtxA protein. Intricate control of atxA gene transcription and AtxA protein function have become apparent from studies of AtxA-induced synthesis of the anthrax toxin proteins and the poly-D-glutamic acid capsule, two factors with important roles in B. anthracis pathogenesis. The amino-terminal region of the AtxA protein contains winged-helix (WH) and helix-turn-helix (HTH) motifs, structural features associated with DNA-binding. Using filter binding assays, I determined that AtxA interacted non-specifically at a low nanomolar affinity with a target promoter (Plef) …